Context The new Parliament passed the Code on Wages Bill, 2019 mandating a minimum wage across the country in its first session itself. Concern with the Bill: This law mandates a universal minimum payment of ₹178 a day. There is some excitement and lots of disappointment all around. For one, the wage prescribed Read More …
Category: Mains
Why is delimitation for Jammu and Kashmir in the news now?
Delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir’s Lok Sabha seats is governed by the Indian Constitution, but delimitation of its Assembly seats (until special status was abrogated recently) was governed separately by the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957. As far as delimitation of Read More …
How plastic pollutes, how much waste the states generate
Worldwide, 75 per cent of all plastic produced is waste, and 87 per cent of this is leaked into the environment. A study by the University of Newcastle, Australia, and published by the World Wildlife Foundation this year concluded that an average person may be ingesting 5 grams of plastic Read More …
Explained: Delimitation of Constituencies
Context Since the bifurcation of J&K State into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, delimitation of their electoral constituencies has been inevitable. While the government has not formally notified the Election Commission yet, the EC has held “internal discussions” on the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019, particularly its provisions on Read More …
Taking on TB: On new anti-tuberculosis drug
Context The anti-tuberculosis drug pretomanid was recently approved by the US FDA. It will be a game-changer for treating people with extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) and those not tolerating multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) drugs available at present. TB scenario According to WHO, in 2017, there were an estimated 4.5 lakh people Read More …
ISRO arm begins search for PSLV makers
Context NewSpace India Ltd, the new public sector space business company, on Friday launched a formal search for industry consortia which can regularly manufacture and deliver entire PSLV satellite launch vehicles for its parent, the Indian Space Research Organisation. It will initially outsource five PSLVs — Indian rockets that can Read More …
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019
Context The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019, which proposes to ban commercial surrogacy, was passed by Lok Sabha on August 5. The Bill was introduced by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan, in the House on July 15. Advertising What is commercial surrogacy? Surrogacy is defined as the Read More …
India State of Forest Report (ISFR)
Context A quarter of India’s geographical area (24.49 per cent) is under forest and tree cover, according to data shared in Parliament by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. These assessments are done by the Forest Survey of India, whose findings are published in the India State of Read More …
Explained: What is a global recession?
Context The global economy continues to be hit by bad news as one big economy after another falters on economic growth. On Wednesday, data from Germany, the world’s fourth-biggest economy, showed that its GDP contracted by 0.1% in the April-June quarter (Q2). Ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, Read More …
What fertility rate data show
Context The graph (below) shows trends for the total fertility rate (TFR) in various states. TFR, defined as the number of children born to a woman until the end of her child-bearing age, is a key indicator for population trends. The graph is based on TFR data from the Sample Read More …
